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Amidst a flurry of small and seemingly underpowered netbooks, HP has taken a slightly different tact in their release of the surprisingly capable HP Mini-Note device. While its up-to-$850 price tag places it in a significantly different category than the Eee PC and other cheap sub-notebooks, it easily makes up for this price difference with functionality and power approaching that of its larger siblings: full sized laptops.

We’ve got an HP Mini-Note unboxing gallery for you to check out if you want to see how the thing looks from all angles, and of course, you can click through for Gear Live’s in-depth review of the HP Mini-Note 2133’s features, capabilities, and user experience, below.

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We got our hands on one of the new HPMini-Note ultraportable netbooks, and thought you guys would enjoy seeing a gallery that’s chock full of unboxing shots. The Mini-Note is HP’s entry into the netbook (very tiny, ultraportable computers that are geared towards Internet tasks) realm, and we think they nailed it in quite a few key areas. From our HP Mini-Note review:

The HP Mini-Note 2133 impresses with its over-all well thought-out design and strong focus on business performance. While the unwieldy mouse button placement will likely throw most users for a loop, it is possible to adapt after a few hours of usage. If you are in the market for an ultra-light laptop with a roomy keyboard and high resolution screen, but don’t feel like waiting around to see if an Atom version is on the way, the 2133 seems like an ideal choice.

Of course, you can check out our full review of the Mini-Note if you think you might have a need for such a device. In the meantime, head on over and check out our Mini-Note unboxing gallery to see it in all its glory.

So we told you that we are giving away an HP HDX Dragon alongside 31 other tech sites. We just wanted to hit you with an update on the 31 Days of the Dragon contest. Today is May 22, which means you have access to the following contests today - click on the site names for the details on their contest rules:

Of course, our contest starts on May 31, so you are going to want to check back here in nine days to get our specific contest rules. If you want to get a jump on it, one thing we will say if you will need a Gear Live account to enter. We’ve already said too much!

Microsoft has announced that it plans to install Windows XP to the inexpensive XOs that now run a customized version of Linux. To do this, OLPC spokesperson Kyle Austin says that they must redesign them and add $7.00 worth of hardware to build a stripped down version for an additional $3.00. While this might be a good thing for Microsoft, we note that the laptop, which started out as a $100.00 device, is now creeping up towards the $200.00 mark. As per usual, the OLPC people still claim that when the OX’s usage becomes more widespread, the price will come down.

Hey, remember that HPHDX Dragon PC that we unboxed a few months ago? Well, HP has gone and upgraded the specs on that puppy, and they want us to give one of them to you guys. Not just the computer, but a few Blu-ray movies, a few PC games, and a bunch of software too. All in all, if you were to purchase everything we are giving away on your own, you’d end up spending somewhere around $5,196.00. Yeah, I said it. Go ahead and read that again.

No, here is the real kicker. Now only are we here at Gear Live giving away one of these 1080p beasts, but thirty other sites are also going to be giving away the exact same package, including our friends over at ArsTechnica, Lockergnome, JKOnTheRun, and Jake Ludington’s MediaBlab. That means you have 31 chances to win. Seriously. That’s why we are calling it 31 Days of the Dragon.

Now, each site is going to set their own criteria for how they are going to run things, and we will be announcing what we will be doing soon. Our giveaway date for the HDX Dragon is June 7, 2008. You’d better keep it locked here, peeps. Oh, and anyone in the world is eligible to win.

Hit the break for the full scoop on everything we are giving away, which other sites are also giving these away, and an unboxing video of the HDX Dragon.

Today, HP made rumors of their releasing a low-cost ultra-portable PC a reality with the official announcement of the HP 2133 Mini-Note. Meant for the education market, the HP 2133 Mini-Note is designed with students in mind, and is optimized for both in-classroom and out-of-school learning. The 2133 Mini-Note features an 8.9-inch WXGA scratch-resistant display, lightweight anodized aluminum shell,and Wi-Fi. HP also threw in their 3D DriveGuard technology, which locks the drive in the event of sudden movement for protection of data, as well as HP DuraKeys, which prevents fading. You know kids and their greasy fingers.

“HP listened to our needs and now is delivering a product designed by education for education,” said Chris Sieger, director of information technology for Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia. “Teachers and technology are the two most important assets in education. HP’s announcement demonstrates that it understands what schools need from industry.”

HP is aiming to keep this one inexpensive, so the Mini-Note starts at $499 USD. You can add on things like Bluetooth, integrated VGA webcam, and CompuTrace software which helps local law enforcement track stolen computers.

The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC should be available later this month, and you can check out more images of the device in our Mini-Note photo gallery.

Ever since Penryn chips started making their way into mobile computers, we all knew it was just a matter of time before Apple bumped their mobiles to the latest chips from Intel as well. This morning, in their Tuesday update, they did just that. Both the MacBook and MacBook Pro are now rocking the Penryn Core 2 Duo chipset. If you are eyeing the MacBook Pro, those have the added bonus of a 6 MB L2 cache if you choose a 2.5 or 2.6 GHz chip, and Multi-Touch trackpads are now standard . That’s hot.

For the MacBook, pricing starts at $1099 for the base model, which includes a Combo drive instead of a SuperDrive, a 2.1 GHz chip, a 120GB hard drive, and 1 GB of RAM. For $200 more, you get a 2.4 GHz chip, an additional gig of RAM, a SuperDrive, and a 160 GB drive. If you need more hard drive space than that, you can get the Black MacBook, which hooks you up with 250 GB of storage.

Over on the MacBook Pro side of things, $1,999 gets you a 2.4 GHz chip, 2 GB of RAM, a 200 GB hard drive, double-layer SuperDrive, and a 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT. If you move up to the $2,499 model, you are bumped up to a 2.5 GHz chip (with 6 MB L2 cache!), a 250 GB hard drive, and a 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT. For $2,799, you get all the same specs, but you are bumped up to a 17-inch screen, if that’s your thing.

All in all, we’d say this is a worthy upgrade if your mobile computer is looking a bit long in the tooth.

Bluelounge’s SpaceStation is a nifty little organizer for those with laptops. Rest it on its rubber pad and it will ergonomically raise the keyboard 5mm while allowing a cool flow of air. Cords will roll up into any of the parts of the case. Use the front for an iPod, the back for the laptop or camera, and the side for a scanner. We don’t want to forget the handy rail and page holder. Available in black or white, you can also position it off center for other accessories. All this and an included USB hub are yours for $79.95.

The MacBook Air is the latest gem of a notebook from the Apple folks. Aimed at those who need something super portable (or, ultra-portable), the Air features a 13-inch LED backlit screen, a full-sized backlit keyboard, and it weighs just three pounds.

We got our hands on the SSD version of the MacBook Air, so we boot it up and give you a look at it’s startup time as well. The Air comes with a

Mini

Micro DVI-to-DVI cable, and

Mini

Micro DVI-to-VGA cable, and the expected power charger and software. We also noticed that the box it ships in is a lot smaller than those of previous Apple notebooks. Check out the video to see for yourself.

HP’s Kevin Wentzel gives us a look at the HP and MTV Take Action Make Art winning notebook design, as well as a first-look at the TX-2000 tablet, during CES. Kevin goes into the HP Imprint process, which is how they get their notebook finishes looking completely fantastic. He also goes into the different specifications that you can get on the new HP notebook computers, which can really be powerhouses if you need them to be. We can expect to see the Artist Edition available this Spring, which will be a limited run. Definitely a collector’s item. Check the video for the full scoop on the latest on HP notebooks.